ABOUT THE ARTIST
René Pulliam is an award winning choreographer, director, and educator
based in Oxford, Mississippi. She is an Associate Professor Emerita of Theatre Arts at the University of Mississippi, where she headed the BFA program in Musical Theatre from 1993-2019. René received her BA in Music from Whittier College in 1972 and earned her MFA in Dance/Choreography from Mills College in 1992. She has directed and/or choreographed hundreds of musicals across the United States, including the West Coast premiers of Smile, Closer than Ever, and Over Here. René received the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Award for her choreography on No, No Nanette and Good News. Onstage and on screen, René has cultivated a diverse resume, with performance credits including television (The Carol Burnett Show), commercials (Dr. Pepper), and touring theatre companies (The King and I, Godspell). She apprenticed with the late rhythm tap dancer Eddie Brown and has shared the stage with such tap legends as Honi Coles, Jimmy Slyde, Bunny Briggs, and the Nicholas Brothers. An Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voice Work, René has recently published her research, "Training the Musical Theatre Performer: Finding a Unified Breath," in the Voice and Speech Review. |
Rene is as compassionate as she is persistent. Her belief in me as an artist was manifested by constantly pushing me to be a better performer. Her knowledge and ability to connect with actors is one in a million, and I am forever grateful for her.
Josh Ross McLemore
Texas Shakespeare Festival, Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre
BFA - University of Mississippi